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Introduction to Legal Research

Reference Sources

Black's Law Dictionary. Ref KF156.B53 1999

Congressional Quarterly’s Guide to the U.S. Supreme Court. Ref KF8742 .W567 2004

Encyclopedia of the American Constitution. Ref KF4548.E53 2000

Encyclopedia of the U.S. Supreme Court. Ref KF8742.A35 E53 2001

West's Encyclopedia of American Law. Ref KF154.W47 1998, Yearbooks 1998-2003

Database

Lexis-Nexis

Lexis-Nexis off campus access

Searching for an article or periodical in LexisNexis Academic

Approximately 5,000 publications, virtually all include full text. Many types of publications are included: newspapers (in English, other languages, and translations of international papers), legal news, general interest magazines, medical journals, trade publications, company financial information, transcripts, wire service reports, government publications (such as the federal case law, U.S. Code, Code of Federal Regulations, Congressional Testimony, etc.), law reviews, and reference works (such as the Forbes Annual Directory, the Official Guide/American Marketplace and the US Global Trade Outlook).

Citation Examples

Cases

Supreme Court

Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U. S. 483, 490 (1954).

Name of Case	Brown v. Board of Education
Vol. #	347
Reporter	U. S.
Page #	483
Pinpoint Cite	490
Date	1954

Lower Federal Court

Brown v. Board of Education, 98 F. Supp. 797, (D. Kan. 1951)

Name of Case	Brown v. Board of Education
Vol. #	98
Reporter	F. Supp
Page #	797
Court	D. Kan.
Date	1951

Statutes

Civil Rights Act of 1964, P.L. 88-353, 78 Stat. 241 (1964).

Popular Name	Civil Rights Act of 1964
Pub. Law #	P.L. 88-353
Vol.#	78
Title of Book	Stat.
Page #	241
Date	1964

Codes

Civil Rights Act of 1964, 42 U.S.C. §1971 et seq. (1988)

Name of Act	Civil Rights Act of 1964
Title #	42
Code Name	U.S.C.
Section	§1971 et seq.
Date	1988